Dustin Brown couldn’t let it go. Thirty minutes after the final horn and after all his teammates had left the locker room, Brown sat with his skates still laced and stared blankly at the far wall.

His Kings had just suffered a humiliating defeat. Not the Kings, but his Kings.

Brown, at age 24, is the Kings’ captain, and today in Montreal he will represent them in the All-Star game for the first time in his career. It’s a huge step in Brown’s development as a player and leader.

“There are a lot of guys who could have represented the team, and they’re all qualified to do so,” Brown said. “To be picked out of all of them and to be named an All-Star, it’s really an honor.

“For this team, I think it’s important that we learn how to do things the right way. I try to show that with how I play, and if that’s what got me voted in, hopefully it will translate to more wins for the organization.”

That “C” stitched on Brown’s jersey isn’t just a pat-on-the- back thing, in the way baseball, basketball and football teams designate captains for largely symbolic roles. In hockey, the captain is the platoon leader, the unquestioned public voice and face, the guy who does the back-patting and butt-kicking.

The butt-kicking part has been Brown’s biggest challenge during his first season as captain. Throughout his five- year career, he has been known for two things: his big hits on the ice and his quiet, humble demeanor off it. In tough times, could Brown be a vocal leader and hold teammates accountable?

Midway through the second period of a Jan. 12 home game against Tampa Bay, Kings defenseman Drew Doughty had to leave the game after a collision with Lightning forward Evgeny Artyukhin.

A dirty hit? Probably not. Questionable? Yes, certainly enough for one of the Kings to jump on Artyukhin. Major ice-on battles have been staged over much less. Sean O’Donnell attempted to fight Artyukhin immediately but the Kings let the incident rest and lost the game in meek fashion.

After the game, Terry Murray, perhaps the most mild- mannered of all NHL coaches, let his players know, in no uncertain terms, they needed to do a better job of standing up for each other.

Brown immediately realized the responsibility fell on his shoulders.

He called for a postgame players-only meeting, and it’s no coincidence that in their next game, the Kings took three roughing penalties.

“When one of your key players gets hurt like that, you have to answer the bell,” Brown said. “It’s not about X’s and O’s. It’s about our willingness to do what it takes.”

Murray remains unhappy with the way the Kings responded to the incident between Doughty and Artyukhin, but he expressed great satisfaction with how Brown handled it.

“I had a conversation with Brownie, a day or two days after, about the incident, and he was very aware of what needed to be done,” Murray said. “It was a real eye-opener for him. If something like that happens next time, I’m sure there will be a response for him personally.

“The fact that the players spent a lot of time talking about it, I think that reflects on Brownie and shows the quality of the person and the care he shows for the organization.”

It also speaks to Brown’s growth as a leader. He’s a more mature, complex player than the 18-year-old rookie who made the Kings roster in 2003 and has stuck around ever since.

Never will Brown be a rah- rah guy, but he understands locker-room dynamics. He can tease Doughty, a 19-year-old rookie, but he also rooms with Doughty during road trips. As the fourth-youngest captain in the NHL, Brown is well- equipped to lead the Kings, who have one of the league’s youngest rosters.

“He’s definitely the right person for the job,” Kings veteran forward Derek Armstrong said. “He’s not super-vocal, but obviously he leads by example on the ice. I don’t think every leader has to be vocal. There are a lot of leaders that are quiet, and they just go about their job. Brownie is a great leader.

“You watch him every day and he comes to work on the ice every day. You don’t have to be a huge vocal leader to be a leader on the team. There are other guys who can talk, and Brownie knows that. He looks to us, to other people, to help with that, but he has done a fantastic job.”

Brown has been strong on the ice as well. He ranks second in the NHL in hits and sixth in shots. Washington superstar Alexander Ovechkin is the only other player in the top 20 in both categories.

Brown, in the first year of the six-year, $19.05 million contract extension he signed in Oct. 2007, is on pace for a second consecutive 30-goal season. Brown’s play, in terms of talent and demeanor, echoes that of former Kings captain Dave Taylor, and Brown should get a chance to build on it for years to come.

“I try to lead by example with the way I play each and every night,” Brown said. “Obviously you’re not going to play your best game every night, but you can put the effort forth. I feel that I do that.

“If Oscar (Moller), Dewey (Doughty) or Simmer (Wayne Simmonds) notice that and it helps them become better players, then I feel like I’m doing my job.”

Rich Hammond was a high school senior when the Rams left town in 1995, and now he's their beat writer for the Southern California News Group. A native of L.A., Rich broke in at the Daily Breeze as a college freshman and also has covered USC, the Kings, the Lakers and the Dodgers. He still loves sports and telling stories. Don't take the sarcastic tweets too seriously.